Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Geneva, Nov. 19, 1985

For the first time in six years, on this day in 1985, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union held a summit conference, which took place in Geneva. President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, began their talks with an hourlong exchange of views at Fleur d'Eau, a lakeside chateau owned by the Aga Khan.

After the official photographers had left the room, the two leaders, who had never met, sat in cream-colored leather armchairs before a roaring fireplace; their interpreters were the only other persons present.

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In 2000, the U.S. State Department declassified a “memorandum of conversation” that recounted their then-secret conversation from an official American perspective. The memo recounted that Reagan led off by telling Gorbachev that “he approached this meeting with a very deep feeling and hoped that [they] could realize its importance and the unique situation that they were in.”

Reagan noted he and Gorbachev “had come from similar beginnings which were quite different from their current positions. He, Reagan, was born and began his life in a small farming community, and now the two of them were here with the fate of the world in their hands, so to speak. The U.S. and the Soviet Union were the two greatest countries on Earth — the superpowers. They were the only ones who could start World War III, but also the only two countries that could bring peace to the world.”

Reagan added that “the two of them would talk about many things, including arms, in the main meeting, but he wondered if the primary aim between them should not be to eliminate the suspicions which each side had of the other. The resolution of other questions would follow naturally after this. To talk about arms while such suspicions exist is an empty exercise as both sides are defensive at corresponding negotiations because of these suspicions. Countries do not have mistrust of each other because of arms, but rather countries build up their arms because of the mistrust between them.”

For his part, Gorbachev said “many problems had developed in U.S.-Soviet relations and in the world” since the prior summit meeting. He said “he would also speak of these issues at the larger meeting, but would now like to avail himself of the opportunity which such a private meeting affords. He had met with members of [Congress and the Reagan administration]. “But the Soviet side recognized the importance of a meeting with the president, and he, [Gorbachev], would like to talk quietly, with respect for the United States and for the president, about many [outstanding] issues.”

Although little substance came of it, both Reagan and Gorbachev expressed their satisfaction with the Geneva summit, which ended on Nov. 21.